By my own hand
by Acerbatus
Summary: Naruto is faced with a tragic past and memories coming back to haunt him. With the giant castle looming over him in his dreams, will his friends and teammates be able to save him before his desire for answers gets him killed? Crossover with Castlevania, Rosario Vampire, and other minor sources.
1. A broken past to be repaired

**A/N: Hello everyone, Acerbatus here with the first chapter of my new, technically old, story. I decided to remake the story I had, since I didn't like how it had turned out. You may see the changes immediately, or maybe not, but I can tell you that they weren't exactly subtle. Well, I don't have much to say right now, so without further ado, on with the story! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the OC's I make.**

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_Fire. There was fire everywhere. There was chanting, there was screaming, and there were cries for blood. There was a crowd of people, each wearing simple clothing, all ranging from tall to short to skinny to fat, men and women alike. Each of them were holding either a pitchfork or a torch in hand, all of them gathered around a tall cross-shaped construct, seeming to tower over their heads. Upon the cross, directly in the center, was a women. She was strikingly beautiful, more beautiful than anyone in their small village._ _She had long, shining blonde hair and was wearing only an elegant white gown. Her arms and legs were tied to the cross and her head was hanging, her gorgeous blue eyes glazed over; they had lost their spark, their fire._ _Her mouth was also set in a small smile, as if figuring that everything would be all right after this. The woman looked down and saw that there was a young boy being held onto tightly by the shoulders in front of the cross by one of the villagers. It was her son, a dhampir, and he was crying, for he didn't know what was going on, but he knew enough to know that his mother was in trouble. _

_"Mom... W-What's going on? I'm scared..." The boy said quietly, tears falling down his young face. He couldn't be any older than five. He had short silver hair and light blue, almost steel-grey eyes that had slit shaped pupils. He was wearing plain clothing that made him blend well with the crowd, except for his hair, his eyes, and the fact that he had two fangs sticking ever so slightly over his bottom lip._

_The woman mouth a few sentences, but the boy couldn't hear what they were; he only saw her lips move. There was a moment where everything was still before the cross was suddenly lit in a pillar of fire. The boy tried to scream but found himself choked by the smoke rising from the fire. There were cheers and the raising of weapons before the boy found himself pushed forward, landing on his hands and knees in front of the burning coffin that was the cross. He turned around slowly and saw the large man that had been holding him raise a pitchfork into the air. _

_"Die monster! You don't belong in this world!" Was the shout that came from the villager, striking down with the pitchfork to impale the boy. The silver-haired boy raised an arm in defense and was about to close his eyes, but there was a yellow flash that appeared in the area, then everything went black._

* * *

Naruto suddenly shot up from his bed, his body covered in sweat, his shoulder length silver hair matted down to his head. It was that dream again. He's been having it ever since he moved to Konohagakure no Sato. It always happened the same way, too, and he still can't remember what his mother said to him that day. Looking at the clock, he noticed that it was time to awaken. Today was the day he would meet his team after all; he couldn't afford to be late. Tying his Konoha hitai-ate to his forehead and throwing on the rest of his clothes, he grabbed his family sword and was out the door. Dressed in an unzipped black flak jacket, like the ones the Chuunin of the village wear, with a long sleeved mesh shirt underneath and black cargo shorts with standard blue shinobi sandals. In addition, there was also his long cloak, the back of it black and the inside red in color. All in all, he looked quite odd for a Genin.

Since he still had time, Naruto decided to take a leisurely walk through one of the main streets, hands in his pockets while he whistled to himself. His eyes would shift back and forth every so often, noticing how people would seem to avoid him, or how they would whisper about what he was. This wasn't out of the ordinary. He was an unknown, after all, despite the fact that he had lived in this village for eighteen years. Letting out a sigh, he continued on to the academy in relative silence, listening as the street became busier and busier.

Nothing had happened during his short walk, besides a couple having an argument, a merchant trying to rip off an ignorant buyer, and a man's cart full of melons breaking down. He looked down at his sword, a rapier of sorts that he had been given by his mother, and made sure the sheath was tightly fastened to his belt before walking inside, his cloak billowing behind him.

* * *

Naruto took his seat near the front, sitting straight and dignified in the chair. The class was slowly being filled his fellow students, all of them having passed the test and all currently wearing their hitai-ate. The seats were soon filled before he heard the chair to the right of him dragged out and a body plop into it. His eyes shifted slightly and saw a mess of red hair above a roundish face and violet colored eyes with whisker-like marks on their cheeks. It was Namikaze-Uzumaki Nazuri, the second daughter of the revered Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato. She was wearing an orange tracksuit with blue shoulders and the Uzumaki spiral on the shoulders and matching orange track pants with blue shinobi sandals. She currently had the jacket unzipped, letting her mesh shirt be shown and revealing quite a bit of her impressive, for her age, bust. She looked over at him and gave him one of her famous smiles, the ones known for brightening a room. Naruto gave her a curt nod and small smile before looking at the silver-haired girl that sat on the other side of the Namikaze heir.

She had the same silver hair color as Naruto did, but it was quite a bit longer. She had a heart-shaped face and ruby red eyes that had the same shaped pupils as his own. She also had a fang sticking over her lower lip. This girl was Akashiya Moka, a vampire and one of the four children of the local vampire lords. She was currently wearing a white battle dress that went down to her knees, black shorts under the dress, and dark combat boots. She also had a silver rosary cross around her neck, attached to a choker. There was something special about it, but Naruto wasn't sure what it was. She gave him a nod in which he returned before turning back to look at the front. The red-head next to him turned to her friend and began talking animatedly to her while they all waited for the sensei to appear.

As if on cue, the man that was their sensei, Umino Iruka, hobbled in on a pair of crutches. One of the sensei had attempted to betray the village and Iruka held him off long enough for the Yondaime to arrive and take care of the situation.

"Hello class, I'm sure you all had heard of what happened yesterday, and just to let you know, everything is alright. The situation was handled and I'll make a full recovery. Now, I would like to congratulate you all on your achievement. Without further ado, I'll begin to announce your teams. Team On- And with the beginning of his announcements, most of the class tuned the teacher out until they heard their names. "Team Seven is Namikaze-Uzumaki Nazuri, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke." At that moment, every girl in the room, barring a few of them, shouted their outrage at not being on the same team as their idol. Nazuri hung her head and let out a groan and Sakura had stood up and shouted her victory before whirling around and sticking a tongue out at her longtime friend and rival, Yamanaka Ino, who just pouted and growled in her seat. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and both Naruto and Moka gave Nazuri a look of sympathy, Moka also slightly disappointed at being separated from her friend.

"Team Eight is Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. Team Nine is still in circulation. Team Ten is Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji." More groans filled the room and few heads hit their desks a moment later. "And finally, Team Eleven will be Akashiya Moka, Dracul Naruto, and Karyuudo Hitsu. That concludes the team assignments. Any questions?"

A bunch of hands were raised at the same time, Sakura's was the first one up. "Sensei, who is Karyuudo Hitsu?"

Iruka smiled and sat at his desk. "She's from a class that had an extra student and didn't want a four Genin team to happen. She's a Youkai, like Naruto-san and Moka-san." Youkai weren't extremely common, but they weren't extremely rare either. However, only the more powerful ones are able to become ninja.

"Now I leave you all to wait for your Sensei, I look forward to working with you all in the future." With that said, Iruka stood with the help of his crutch and hobbled out of the room. Nazuri sighed and stood to go over to her teammates, a cloud of depression surrounding her. She was on a team with two people she didn't like very much, and a sensei who she didn't know yet.

Naruto was about to turn to properly introduce himself to Moka, but stopped as his ears caught the sound of foot steps. The door slid open and in walked a female figure. She was wearing a flak jacket, much like Naruto's, but the standard green of Konoha. She was also wearing tight blue pants that formed to her legs and standard shinobi sandals with a very large broadsword attached to her back. However, they couldn't see what she looked like; she didn't have a head. "Is this the right room?" A young female voice sounded out.

There were shocked looks and wide-eyed stares all over the room. Naruto got the feeling that the figure was rolling her eyes, but couldn't really tell because of obvious reasons. "Why are you all staring? Haven't you ever seen a Dullahan before?" That answer was very obvious. "Well? Is this the room under Umino Iruka?"

Moka was the first to answer her. "Yes, it is. I'm assuming you are Hitsu-san?" A small bow of her body signified her answer as a yes. "We," Moka pointed to herself and Naruto, "are your teammates."

Hitsu made her way over to sit between the two of them. after small introductions, they fell into a silence again; the only sounds being small chatter coming from the teams that actually knew each other and others attempting to get to know their teammates.

There was a loud crash and glass exploded inward from one of the windows. Two kunai knives were thrown into the walls to hold up a banner that suddenly appeared at the front of the room. 'The super sexy snake mistress kunoichi of Konoha, Mitarashi Anko has arrived!' Were the words written crudely upon the banner. A tan ball of cloth had hit the ground and rolled into the center of the room. It uncurled and revealed a rather well-endowed woman wearing a tan over coat with a fitted mesh body suit that stretches from her neck down to her thighs and a dark orange miniskirt with shinobi sandals that had the addition of shin guards.. Her purple hair was set in a flared pony-tail, her light brown, pupil-less eyes were narrowed and her mouth was set in a wide grin.

"Alright! I'm Mitarashi Anko, sensei of Team Eleven! I want the maggots on my squad to meet me on the roof ASAP!" She was suddenly gone in a puff of smoke.

The three confused members of the squad slowly got up and made their ways to the roof. Seeing this, Nazuri pouted in her seat. Why couldn't she have the crazy sensei? It wasn't fair...

* * *

On the roof, the three Genin found their purple-haired sensei sitting on the edge, chewing on a sick of dango. "It took you all long enough." The woman grumbled. "Now have a seat and we'll begin introductions. I'll go first." Anko let out a sigh. "My name is Mitarashi Anko, My likes are dango, red bean soup, and snakes. My dislikes are people treating other people like they are lesser beings and a certain snake-teme." Anko trailed off at the end before continuing. "My hobbies? Torture and interrogation." There was a sadistic look on her face now. "My dreams for the future? Well, I guess that would be to become the head of the T&I department." Anko's grinned returned and she pointed at Moka. "You, with the eyes, introduce yourself."

Moka nodded and began to speak. "My name is Akashiya Moka and I'm a vampire." She waited for what she assumed would be shocked expressions, raising an eyebrow when there were none. While vampires weren't entirely rare, seeing them join the forces of a village was. "I like tomato juice, blood, and the thrill of meeting and defeating a worthy opponent. I dislike cooking and when others are looked down on for being who they are. My hobbies are reading and fighting and my dream for the future is to get strong enough to take over as the head of my family."

Anko's grin got a little wider; looks like they'll get along just nicely. "Now you, headless."

Hitsu sighed, shifting in her seat. "My name is Karyuudo Hitsu, I'm a Dullahan. I like quietness, being engaged in combat, and reading. I dislike when people ask me about my head. I have no hobbies worth mentioning and my dream for the future is to be noticed for who I am, not what I am." A simple, yet admirable goal.

"Now you, with the cape." Naruto's eye twitched. It was a cloak, not a cape. There's a difference...

"My name is Dracul Naruto, I'm a dhampir." There was a raised eyebrow from Moka and a shift of the body from Hitsu. It seems that they didn't know that, though he didn't blame them because he didn't have an aura of demonic energy that he gave off. "I like ramen, blood, the color orange, and the feeling of being engaged in combat with someone who is my equal. I dislike ignorance and people who don't earn anything through hard work. My hobbies are gardening and swordplay and my dream for the future is to find the Castlevania and reach the throne room." Now he was receiving a shocked look from even Anko, who had read up on each of them before hand. Find the Castlevania? Did this kid have a death wish? Not only was it crawling with some of the rarest and strongest monsters, but it was also home of the most powerful of monsters, Count Dracula, the first vampire. Rumor has it that even Death himself roamed its halls.

"Before any of you say anything, I do have my reasons for wanting to find it. I need to see my father in person. I need to know why he let my mother die." The silver-haired dhampir stated. There was a long silence as everything sunk in.

"YOUR FATHER IS DRACULA!?" Came the shout from all three of the females around him. He nodded, his face betraying nothing and showing that he was telling the truth. Both Moka and Hitsu fainted, falling out of their chairs. Anko sighed and stood up, feeling a little dizzy.

"I need to clear this with Hokage-sama. When your teammates wake up, tell them that we are meeting at training ground forty-four for your final test tomorrow at dawn. Don't be late. Dismissed." Shaking her head, the purple-haired sensei disappeared in a puff of smoke to go talk to the Hokage.

Naruto sighed. Things were about to get extremely complicated for them, and he could only wonder what the future would hold for this unlikely team. Looking up into the sky, the boy tightened his fists and narrowed his eyes; he could finally get the answers he's been searching for ever since that horrible day.

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**A/N: Well, that was the first chapter of the story, hoped you liked it. A lot of what I had planned will remain the same, but the stories of the characters will be changed slightly, some a little more than others. I didn't exactly explain the story of the Youkai/Ayakashi and how they came to live with the humans, but it will be explained in the next chapter. Also, more western names will be given in a western format for ease of understanding. I look forward to your reviews. Acerbatus signing out.**


	2. An interesting development

**_Hello everyone, Acerbatus here, finally getting around to bringing you the next chapter of my story. I hope it's to your liking as it was to mine. Sorry it took so long, I started it early September and had completely neglected it after Destiny came out. I don't care what anyone says, it definitely lived up to the hype it created for me, even though the story was a little lackluster. Now i must ask, save any complaints you have until the story is finished and you've read the author's note at the bottom. With out further ado, I give you: An interesting development._**

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_"Mother, why did Father leave us?" A young boy asked the woman in front of him, both sitting at a small table eating dinner. The woman looked up from her meal, a strand of blonde hair falling in front of her eye, making her push it behind her ear again. _

_"Naruto, I know you miss him, but your Father is a very important man and can't stay with us all the time." A small smile graced her face. _

_"Then why can't we just stay in the castle?" The boy once again asked. "It's big enough." _

_The woman chuckled softly and reached over to ruffle the boy's shaggy silver hair, making him puff out his cheeks. "Because that would just put us in danger and your Father doesn't want that." _

_"But... Couldn't he just protect us?" Naruto didn't really understand why they couldn't just go live with him. _

_"Because if he had to protect us all the time, it would put him in danger as well. We would just be in the way. Besides, if your Father had to protect you all the time, you wouldn't get strong, now would you?" _

_That effectively curbed all of the boy's questions, for now. They continued to eat in silence before the Mother's head shot up and turned towards the door. "Naruto, listen to me. Go to your room and hide someplace safe." "Bu-" "No buts! Do as you're told! Now hurry." The woman stood as her son ran to his room. The boy was hiding in a corner of his dark closet before he heard the wood of their front door crack and bust open. He only heard his Mother's scream before everything went black._

* * *

Naruto's eyes shot open, heart pounding and breathing heavily. He looked around and saw that he was in a large clearing and to his left was a high fence that separated him from a dense and dangerous forest. Continuing to look around, he saw his two teammates also sitting against trees, each doing something that would keep them occupied. Moka was napping like he had been while Hitsu was using a kunai to carve a stick into a sharper stick. Their Sensei told them dawn, so they got here slightly earlier to be on time. Though Naruto did wonder why this was the training ground she picked...

A puff of smoke appeared in the middle of the three of them, signalling the arrival of their Sensei. "Good, you're all early." Anko looked around and noted each of her students. "Alright maggots, today I'll be issuing your final exam to see if you're staying a team or not." This didn't seem like a surprise to any of them. "Your final test will be to capture me". The three of her students stood from their spots.

The snake mistress reached into her trench coat and pulled out an alarm clock. "This is set for high noon. If I'm not captured by then, you lose. Normally, I'm all for the stealth approach, but I want to see what each of you are capable of so I'll be taking you on in the open." She ginned and pulled out a coin. "When this coin hits the ground, I expect you to come at me with the intent to kill."

The purple-haired sensei flipped the coin into the air. Naruto, Moka, and Hitsu each watched the coin, tensing their bodies as they got ready to move. With a dull 'thud' the coin hit the ground, signalling the start of their mission.

Naruto was the first to rush forward, fist cocked back and ready to let loose a powerful punch. Anko smirked; the kid was fast, but she could read his moves like an open book. She soon lost the smirk as she saw a blueish-green glow surround his fist before he sent it forward.

**"Tulkas no ken!" (Fist of Tulkas!)** Came the shout of the dhampir, letting loose a few more punches after the first, his sensei easily dodging them before her back hit the large fence that surrounded the forest. Naruto smirked and aimed straight for her head. Dodging her head to the side at the last second, Anko felt the edges of her hair become singed before she released a powerful kick to the boy's abdomen, sending him flying back and skidding across the ground. "Not bad kid, but you're gonna have to do better than that."

Sensing danger, the snake mistress jumped to the side just in time to dodge an axe kick from the silver-haired Moka that was powerful enough to crack the ground. She definitely had the edge in physical strength, and to think, she wasn't even using her full power yet. Moka didn't let up and rushed after her sensei, sending a barrage of kicks and punches which were all easily dodged. With one last axe kick, Anko dove to the side and back flipped away to get some distance.

Rolling to her feet, their sensei smirked and put her hands on her hips. "Is that all you got girly? I expected more out of a member of the legendary race of ayakashi. Even the halfling over there was putting up more of a fight." Anko taunted, her smirk turning into a grin as she saw Moka's eyes flash dangerously. The silverette roared and launched forward, cracking the ground. She cocked her fist back but widened her eyes as the snake mistress was suddenly in her guard, sending her flying back into the fence with a palm strike to the chest. Hitsu chose the moment of contact to leap forward with her broadsword drawn, bringing it down in an overhead strike.

Spinning to the side, the Miterashi dodged the razor sharp blade as it dug into the ground, quickly dodging a few more sword swipes before sweeping the headless girl's feet out from under her. Crossing her arms, she had a small smile on her face as she watched her team group together and look over the situation.

* * *

"Alright, we need a plan. A straight forward approach isn't working." Naruto analyzed their current situation, watching for any weaknesses in their sensei's stance and finding none.

Moka rolled her eyes. "Of course it isn't working, she is a Jounin after all. This is obviously a test where we need to work together to pass."

"She's also toying with us, hoping to make us angry so we make more mistakes." Hitsu threw her ten ryo in.

"Come on kiddies! Time's running out and I'm not getting any younger here!" Anko shouted out, twisting a finger in her ear out of boredom. She kept herself purposely out of hearing range of their whispers; she did want to see what they could come up with after all.

Naruto's eyes suddenly lit up and he turned to face his two teammates. "Moka-san, Hitsu-san, I believe I have a plan. I just hope it's a big enough surprise to catch her off guard. Now follow my lead." Naruto turned back to face the snake mistress who was now playing with a small garden snake but still keeping an eye on her students. He grabbed the edge of his cloak and pulled it over the front of his body to hide it from view, closing his eyes in concentration. The dhampir was suddenly surrounded by a small pillar of light before it closed and he was gone. Everyone in the clearing had dropped jaws, even Hitsu though you couldn't actually tell.

The pillar flashed into existence right behind Anko, making her spin around quickly and jump backwards as the light faded to reveal the silver-haired boy throwing open his cloak, three medium sized balls of fire forming in the empty space before being launched forward one after the other. **"Gouka!"(Hell Fire!)**

Anko grit her teeth and ducked around each of fireballs. She was definitely not expecting this. Sensing danger, the snake mistress ducked forward to dodge a flying kick from Moka before being forced to jump into a back flip, tucking herself into a ball as Hitsu's sword soared under her. Naruto took this time to charge forward, his fist glowing that blueish-green again as he slammed it into his sensei's back.

Anko let out a grunt of pain as she hit the ground, rolling across and attempting to stand but stopping as she saw two extremely sharp and pointy weapons poised at her neck and a fist ready to be plowed into her stomach. "Heh, well done kids, ya got me. Now get those blades out of my face so I can properly pass you brats." Anko winced and stood up, rolling her shoulders to get the feeling back in them. Just as she had stood up, the alarm rang out, making her new Genin smile. "Welcome to Team 11! Congratulations, you pass!" Anko grinned and gave them a thumbs up. "Now lets go grab some Dango! On me! This time." She mumbled and wrapped her arms around their shoulders before they had any time to offer protest, not that any of them would considering it was free and they were also starving. This would be the beginning of a new family and a beautiful friendship between all of them.

* * *

Somewhere in a dark cavern, deep underground, there was a dark room barren of any features bar a few torches which barely gave the room any light. There was a throne at the far end of it with a man sitting upon it. The only things that can be seen of the man were his glowing eyes, yellow irises with a snake-like slit pupil. A man dressed from head to toe in purple clothing suddenly entered the room before dropping to a knee. "Wagakimi-sama (my lord), you have a visitor." The man rose to his feet and left the room swiftly before he was replaced by a rather short man that was dressed in a formal suit, complete with cane and top hat. There was one other addition to the ensemble; a grinning white mask was placed upon his face. Giving a small bow, the man began his greeting.

"Greetings! It is a pleasure to see you again after being away for so long." The man lifted his top hat before lowering it again.

"I didn't call you here for idle chatter. Are the plans ready?" The man on the throne didn't want this meeting to drag on; this man made him strangely uncomfortable.

"Ah, yes, the plans... Uh, what plans were those?" The well dressed man asked, making the man on the throne growl and narrow his eyes. "Oh yes, those plans! I apologize, I make so many plans that I have trouble keeping track of which ones are with whom. They are ready, as soon as the final piece is in place, the invasion can begin."

The one on the throne almost purred "Good, good. Soon, Konoha will fall, and I will finally have my revenge."

"Great! Now I must take my leave, things to do and people to see and all that. Just don't initiate the plans too early, we wouldn't want you to mess with the plot of this story, now would we?" The grin on the mask seemed to be wider than it was before.

"What was that? What story? What plot?" The man on the throne knew nothing of any story.

"Nothing, nothing, forget I said anything. Now I bid you adieu, Orochimaru-sama." And with that, the formally dressed man vanished into the shadows of the doorway. Orochimaru rubbed at his temples, relieved that he didn't have to be in that man's presence any longer. The guy was seriously creepy, even to someone like him.

* * *

_**That's the end of that. I've just introduced the character that will begin to reappear the most in all of my stories and will definitely be the character I have the most fun writing. He is also not the only character from another series that will appear here. I don't own him, he is not mine. I will tell you this though, he's going to break the fourth wall a lot. The first person to figure out who he is before his name is known will have some say on one chapter of their choice, be it filler or main story, though the final decision will still be up to me. I'll also tell you that his name will be known around the start of the Chuunin Exams, so there is plenty of time. And finally, Blood Moon will officially be removed in a few days. Acerbatus, signing off.**_


	3. A growing tension

**_A/N: Hello guys, Acerbatus here bringing you the next chapter of By my own hand. This chapter is slightly longer than the last one and contains quite a bit more interaction between characters. First, I'd like to thank all of you who reviewed and all of you who like this story. I encourage more of you to review as it gives me more of a reason to put out more chapters. Feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to respond to you regarding them. Now without further ado, on with the show._**

* * *

_'Where... Where am I? It's so cold... Wait... I feel... warmth...? Just like... Mother's?' A young Naruto's eyes slowly opened to gaze upon the face of what he believed to be an angel. Blinking a few times to clear up the blurriness, Naruto took in her features. This 'angel' had long red hair hair, the shade of blood, and violet colored eyes. Her face was round and had very light colored whisker like marks on her cheeks. In place of what would be human ears, she had two pointed fox-like ears that sat on top of her head. _

_The woman blinked as she saw the silver-haired boy open his eyes. He had been stirring for the past few minutes, she decided to sit by and watch just to see if he would wake up. "Mina-kun! He's waking up!" She shouted excitedly, quickly turning to apologize to the wincing boy. A few moments later, a tall man walked into the room. He had bright yellow hair that spiked in multiple directions with two bangs that came down to frame his face. He had electric blue eyes and a strong angled face with a kind smile on his face. He was wearing what Naruto would later recognize as the traditional Konoha blue shirt and pants that are worn by Chunin and Jounin. _

_"Glad to see you're awake, my name is Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. Though, you probably already knew that." The man sweat-dropped when he saw the young boy shake his head. _

_"And I'm Uzumaki Kushina! Wife to the Hokage and previous Kyuubi-no-kitsune, dattebane!" The woman shouted again, obviously still excited and not wanting to get forgotten. She then proceeded to apologize more to the child for hurting his ears, making her husband sweat-drop more. _

_"Kushi-hime, you might want to let the boy have some space before he has a panic-attack..." The red-head puffed out her cheeks childishly but relented and backed away. The kid really did look like he was about to start panicking. "You know who we are, now may we know who you are?" The Yondaime asked, kneeling down to get eye-level with the silver-haired boy who was just sitting up. He'd been sleeping on their couch for a few hours, and he still looked exhausted. _

_"My name... is Dracul Naruto... I'm a dhampir... and the son of Dracula." The kid didn't seem to be lying, but that last part was extremely difficult to believe, especially since there was no record of that monster ever having a child._

_"Right... Well Na-"_

_"Where's my mother?" The young dhampir asked suddenly. _

_The Yondaime and his wife didn't know what to say. After returning with Naruto, Minato told Kushina of what he saw, and now he could assume that the burning figure on the cross was the boy's mother. "I... I'm sorry. I wasn't fast enough." Minato looked down and away from the boy; he couldn't bear to look at the boy's face. _

_By now, Naruto had gotten to his feet to stretch his legs before the words and the events of before hit him like a sac of steel blocks. "M-Mother?" Naruto dropped to his knees, eyes wide and hands tightened into fists. Tears began to drip down his cheeks before he let out a loud wail that made both of them cover their ears. __**"MOTHER!"**__ A power stronger than either of them have ever felt suddenly erupted from the boy. It was filled with sorrow, anger, pain, and most of all, hate. Pure malice soon filled the aura of sorrow. __**"I'll kill them... I'll kill them all!" **__The aura increased in intensity, becoming a whirling red vortex of killing intent with the dhampir in the center of it. The energy was so intense that the walls and floor began to crack. Minato had no doubt that the whole village could feel it, maybe even a few surrounding villages._

_Acting quickly, the Yondaime delivered a quick blow to the back of the boy's neck, making him lurch forward and the aura dissipate. "I don't think he was kidding about being Dracula's son..." Was the only thing that either of them could think to say at the moment before the door was thrown open._

* * *

Naruto's eyes shot open to the sound of loud, angry yelling in his ear. He winced as he shifted the ear piece he was using. "Sorry, sorry, I guess I dozed off for a second."

"More like almost an hour! We've been chasing that damn cat four about forty minutes! Get your ass in gear brat, she's closing in on your position!" Came the irate voice of his purple-haired sensei.

"Understood." The dhampir closed his eyes and felt for the energy in the area. Finding the ones he was looking for, Naruto shot out of the tree he had fallen asleep in and caught the small furry form that was bounding by. Holding the now identified target, a brown cat with white markings on its head and a ribbon tied around its ear. "Target acquired, waiting for regroup." Naruto struggled to keep the cat from squirming, gaining a few cuts and nasty scratches for his troubles before letting out a frustrated growl and grabbing the cat's head to make it look into his eyes. _**"Sleep."**_The cat struggled for a few moments before falling into a deep sleep and going limp. Naruto sighed and cradled the cat in his arms as he waited for the rest of his team to catch up to the cat.

This was the site that Anko, Moka, and Htsu came upon as the leaped down from a building. Anko looked irritated but none the worse for wear, Hitsu was fidgety and looked like she was trying her hardest to restrain herself from murdering it, and Moka looked positively livid.

"What the hell, Naruto no baka!? First you fall asleep in the middle of a mission, then you somehow manage to catch that demonic cat on your own in the span of a few seconds!? Do you have any idea how much we've gone through?" Moka had stomped up to him, her red eyes burning with anger and her hair flailing wildly behind her like silver fire while her powerful youkai permeated the air. To be fair, she had the right to be angry as she had seemed to suffer the majority of the cuts from the cat's claws.

"S-Sorry. I saw my opportunity and I went for it. I didn't mean to anger you." Came Naruto's reply, slightly taken aback by his teammate's rage.

"You a-"

"That's enough Moka, we can discuss Naruto's effortless capture later, but we should go turn in the cat before it gets any later." Anko didn't want any casualties to happen, especially before their first higher ranking mission, and between teammates at that.

"Understood, Sensei." The vampire crossed her arms under her chest and glared at her half-breed teammate. She'd play nice, for now.

* * *

"Team 11, reporting a mission accomplished Hokage-sama." The snake mistress stated, holding out the still sleeping cat.

"Impressive, that was slightly faster than my daughter's team, and even this demon cat likes her." The Yondaime liked to brag about his daughter all the time, though what proud father wouldn't? "I'll get Tora here to Shijimi-sama right away." He gave the sleeping cat to one of his assistants. "Speaking of my daughter, Team 7 has encountered some trouble on their first C-rank mission, and Kakashi sent a request for some back-up after being injured in battle. Normally, I would have requested the team to retreat and abandon the mission, but I trust Kakashi's judgement. Since you're the first team to be free of their missions, I'm going to be sending you to Nami no kuni to join a joint A-rank mission with Team 7. You depart tomorrow morning, so make sure to get plenty of rest. Dismissed."

Anko was slightly shocked that their leader would even consider this, but she wouldn't question him. "Y-Yes sir!" While her students didn't want to look like children in front of their leader, each of them looked like they were about to burst with excitement, even the normally stoic and irritated Moka.

About thirty minutes later, Team 11 found themselves sitting at a table in the local Dango shop, enjoying a nice meal before they had to start packing.

"You kids are lucky, usually A-ranks are only reserved to the top Chunin and Jounin. I've never heard of Hokage-sama giving one to a squad of Genin, even two squads backed by Jounin." Anko sighed as she took a bite of one of the Dango balls, flicking the stick into a growing pile of them. Their group definitely looked odd inside the small Dango shop, but wasn't exactly out of the ordinary considering there were many people that had a variety of animal appendages.

"I can't help but be anxious, we haven't really done anything involving combat besides training. This is going to be our first real mission." Hitsu stated, somehow eating her Dango despite not having a head to do it with. This was an extremely odd sight for many having never seen the girl before.

The other two nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we can't afford to screw this up, we might not get another chance like this." Naruto said, still trying to hold in his excitement.

"If we 'screw this up', it could be the end of us, if the rank of the mission says anything about the difficulty." Came the voice of a still annoyed vampire, having apparently not gotten over their earlier mission.

"Hopefully the difficulty was overestimated and the hard part was taken care of by Kakashi no hentai. I don't want to risk my team after just having gotten fond of you brats." Their sensei grinned as she stood up and pulled out the exact amount for the bill.

"Kakashi no hentai?" All three of them questioned at the same time.

Anko sweat-dropped. "You'll see when you meet him. Now I want you kids to go get your shit packed for tomorrow. Pack enough to keep you set for a month, we don't know how long this mission will last, so best be prepared. Dismissed!"

"Yes ma'am!" Her students saluted before going off their separate ways.

* * *

It was tomorrow afternoon and Team 11 had just reached the boat that would take them to Nami no kuni.

"You kids look a little more professional than the last bunch that I took across. You look like you might actually have futures as shinobi." The old boatman hobbled towards the long boat, his black robe obscuring most of his features. He turned to face Anko and held out a skeletal hand. "Do you have my fee?"

Anko reached into a coat pocket and retrieved four strange-looking coins before dropping them into his hand.

"Heh heh heh, thank you." The old man pulled his arm back into his robe before getting onto the boat and motioning them to do the same. "I'm not going to risk the motor, so I'm going to need to row us there. Anko nodded and the trip began in silence.

A few hours later, they were almost at their destination and all of them seemed restless. Moka was hanging over the edge of the boat, looking green in the face as she tried her hardest not to lose her lunch.

"Are you okay Moka-san? You look a little... green." Naruto snickered. He just couldn't resist; he loved making her angry for some reason.

Moka glared at him and turned to say something before immediately throwing up into the water.

"Sorry Moka-san, I couldn't resist"

"I'm gonna... get you when... I-" Her sentence was cut off by another vomiting session.

Their teammates shook their heads, well, one of them did, as they finally reached the shore. Hitsu slung the seasick Moka's arm over her shoulder before helping her out of the boat, getting a nod of thanks from the girl.

Anko waved the oarsman away before turning to her team. "Alright, the village shouldn't be too far away if Kakashi's directions were anything to go by. When we get there, we'll need to ask around for the house of a man named Tazuna, that's where we'll find Team 7. Let's move out before it gets any later."

After a while of travel, and a moment of Moka attempting to kill Naruto, the team managed to reach the village and each of them were appalled by what they saw. They'd heard stories, but they didn't think it was that bad. The village was in shambles, houses were in states of disrepair, families were in the streets hungry and malnourished as father's and mother's did what they could to feed their children.

"This... This is all that Gato guy's fault. He's the cause of all their suffering." Naruto growled, his hands tightening into fists. They had been given the full mission briefing, not the toned down one that the bridge builder had given. "I'm going to make him pay for this." This got an agreed nod and grunt from both of his teammates.

Anko smiled sadly; if they weren't sure about doing this mission before, they certainly were now. After some asking around, and in some cases explaining that they weren't there to cause trouble, they finally got directions to the house they were looking for. Knocking on the door before stepping back, the team waited anxiously before a beautiful woman with long blue hair opened the door. "May I help you?"

"We're from Konoha." Came the snake mistress' answer. The woman looked around briefly before motioning them inside.

* * *

Namikazi-Uzumaki Natsuri was bust banging her head against the table her team was sitting at. She was currently trying to stop herself from strangling the pinkette sitting next to her while the other girl was busy trying to talk to their other teammate about something that the boy had no interest in. They were all waiting patiently for Tazuna's daughter to finish the food before there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." She said from the kitchen before they heard a few foot steps and the door open. There was some mumbling before the woman walked into the dining room with a somewhat serious look on her face. "Kakashi-san, you have some visitors." She then went back into the kitchen to start preparing even more food.

Their injured sensei was sitting against the wall reading his smut when he looked up to see a face he knew all to well. "Hello Anko, so your team is the one Hokage-sama sent?." The one-eyed Jounin hid his disappointment that it wasn't someone he got along decently with, like Asuma.

"What's the matter, Kaka-hentai? You don't seem happy to see me." Her eye twitched. As vulgar as she's thought to be, even she didn't openly read porn in public, especially in front of kids.

Kakashi slowly slid his Icha-Icha into the special pouch he had for it. "It's not that, I'm happy Sensei sent someone capable." He chuckled. "Now you can take over the team training until I feel better." He gave an eye-smile.

"Tch, lazy bastard." Anko sighed and sat agaisnt the wall across from him.

Natsuri had lifted up her head just enough to see who walked in before her eyes widened at who she saw, launching herself over the table before tackling her friend to the ground. "Moka-chan! I didn't think Tou-sama would send you! I haven't seen you in months!" Moka was flailing as she tried to pry the hanyou off of her but was failing miserably.

"I... missed you too... Natsuri." Moka sighed and resigned herself to the fox-girl's nuzzling as Naruto and Hitsu sat at the table. After some introductions between Team 11 and the residents of the house, the now identified Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, had set the table with a bounty of food, despite not having much to begin with.

"Now Kakashi, I believe there are a few things we need to talk about regarding this mission." Anko's eyes twinkled with a dangerous gleam. Things were about to start getting interesting.

* * *

_**A/N: That was the third chapter of By my own hand, I hope you all liked it. Now, I'll soon be putting up a poll regarding on whether Haku should be male or female and if he/she should live or not. If female, she'll live and most likely join Konoha. If male, I'll most likely kill him like canon, unless enough people want him alive. So give me your thoughts and desires in your comments. Also, I'll begin dropping hints as to who the mystery character is and have decided to let the first person to guess what game he's from name him. I hope it's enough inspiration to get people guessing. First hint: The game was an RPG on the PlayStation 2.  
**_


	4. A revelation of sorts

_**A/N: Hello again, I'm here with the next chapter of By my own hand. I'd first like to say thank you for all of the positive reviews and your support for my story. It really makes me want to keep writing and the more positive reviews I get, the faster it makes me want to push out chapters. Second, I'd like to know what you all think the character pairings should be. It's not totally set in stone yet, so I'd like to hear what the readers think. I don't have much else to say at the moment, so on with the show.**_

* * *

Naruto honestly didn't know how he kept getting himself into bad situations like this. He would guess that this all started when it was his and Moka's turn to guard the bridge builder and his workers as they tried to finish the bridge as fast as possible. Now both he and Moka were dangling over the side of the bridge, tied together by a thick cord. Their arms were tied around each other with Moka's budding breasts were pressed flush against Naruto's chest as the dhampir had to fight himself to not look up, though he really, really wanted to. Looking up meant he would have the chance to see straight into the girl's cleavage, but that would also invoke the wrath of his female companion and that was something he would not risk.

"You know, this wouldn't have happened if you didn't try to push me off the bridge." Naruto stated dryly as he felt the blood rushing to his head, looking down into the water. It would be very bad if the rope broke before someone could pull them up.

"I wouldn't have to push you off the bridge if you wouldn't try to fall asleep on the job." Moka growled through her teeth, her fangs bared; getting angry won't get them out of this situation.

"Point taken. Now, do you have an idea on how to get us out of this situation?" Naruto looked down slightly before averting his eyes up again, feeling some blood threaten to leak from his nose. He was a thirteen year old boy after all.

"Hey! What are you two doing down there?" Both of the Youkai blinked, looking to the bridge above them to see the red-haired girl that was their comrade. "Oh? Moka-chan, you dog, getting comfy with Naruto-san on the job, are you?" The girl grinned slyly, putting a hand over her mouth to hide it.

"I-It's not like that! Hurry and pull us up already before the rope breaks!" Moka shouted, cheeks flushing slightly as the rope above their feet begins getting thinner, looking ready to snap under their combined weight and the force of when they fell over the edge.

"Alright, alright, I'm pulling." Natsuri mumbled as she grabbed the rope and began pulling, easily dragging them up with demonically enhanced strength.

After pulling the two were pulled up and untangled, Moka whirled around and connected a heavy kick to her teammates chin, launching him over the bridge and into the distant water. "Know your place!" Patting herself off, she turned to her friend and put a hand on her hip, making Natsuri sweat-drop.

"What was that for?" The fox girl asked.

"He deserved it." Was the simple statement, as if no other explanation was needed.

"R-Right... Well, Sakura and I," Natsuri pointed over to the pinkette who was observing the builders work, "Came here to relieve you and Naruto-san of watch duty for the day. When we didn't see you, I had to search for your energies and found you dangling over the edge there. How did that happen, by the way?"

"Long story, I'll tell you later." The vampire yawned and stretched her arms, walking towards the back of the bridge to go back to Tazuna's house.

Natsuri shook her head and looked off to where her dhampir friend had landed in the water. "I hope Naruto-san will be okay." She sighed and turned back to do her job: make sure no one tries to stop the builders from their work.

* * *

Moka arrived at the house and opened the door, walking in to see the normal scene of her team and comrades lounging around the living room. She smirked as she saw an irate Naruto sitting in the corner, soaking wet with a large bruise on his chin.

"You didn't have to be so rough." The boy narrowed his eyes, his eyebrow twitching. "You're lucky I don't share the same weakness our kind usually has."

This of course, was the vampire's weakness to water. Contrary to popular belief, they could cross running water, but touching water that didn't have special treatment would severely weaken them. Naruto seemed to be part of the very small percentage of vampires and dhampirs that didn't have this.

"A little water isn't going to kill you." Moka sat down on her knees in front of the small table in the middle of the room, pouring herself some of the tea that Tsunami had set out earlier.

A grumble came from Naruto as he turned away from her, moving his wet hair out of his eyes.

Anko raised an eyebrow at their exchange, having been curious when Naruto had come back soaking wet, glaring at the floor, and grumbling to himself; it obviously had something to do with his teammate. "Hey, you two shouldn't be getting into lovers' quarrels on the job; we're still not entirely sure when the enemy might show themselves."

"We're not lovers!" Came the shout from both her students, cheeks flushing brightly. Anko chuckled and shook her head, going back to the book she was reading before.

The day before, after both teams had finished eating, Kakashi had fully filled Team 11 in on what had happened, and his assumption that the enemy, Momochi Zabuza, was still alive. They figured it would be at least a week from Team 7 and Tazuna's arrival before Zabuza would be fully functioning again. That was four days ago.

* * *

Natsuri and Sakura had gotten back with Tazuna after the workers had finished for the day. Soon after, Tsunami had set out dinner so the teams would be well fed and full of energy for training. It was Team 11 on one side with Team 7 on the other, Tazuna at one end and Tsunami and her son, Inari, at the other.

The meal was ate in relative silence with a few bouts of idle chatter here and there before the silence was broken by Inari. "Why. Why are you doing this? You don't stand a chance against Gato, so why?" The kid had a pitifully dark look on his face. "He's just going to kill you like he did everyone else that stood up to him."

Natsuri grinned, "This guy must be pretty strong, but we're ninja of Konoha, we don't give up and we don't lose."

There was a simultaneous nod from every ninja at the table. Kakashi had a smile under his face mask, proud of his sensei's daughter.

"You ninja don't know suffering, you don't know anything! You don't know what it's like to have a precious person taken from you! You don't know what it's like to watch someone you love get executed!" Inari had stood up and slammed his hands onto the table, tears and snot streaming down his face as he cried.

"Inari! That's enough!" Tsunami scolded her son. "I'm sorry, Gato took someone from us; he was like a father to Inari, and he's been devastated ever since."

The ninja all looked to the kid with sympathy in their eyes, except for two of them. Hitsu, simply because she didn't have a head, but still emanated a feeling of sympathy for the kid, and Naruto, because his face was still directed towards the table.

The dhampir's eyes were shadowed by his hair and his fists were clenched tightly in a ball in front of his face. His teeth were bared, clenched tightly with his fangs extended over his bottom lip. Moka, who was sitting next to the silver-haired boy, put a hand on his shaking shoulder and leaned in to look at his face, her eyes widening as his own had changed from their beautiful sapphire color to a fiery red filled with rage. His eyes were narrowed and the already slit pupils had become even thinner. "Naruto?"

"You think we don't know suffering?" The shinobi growled out, completely ignoring Moka and aiming his gaze at the sobbing boy. "At least you still have your mother and grandfather. I have nothing. I know exactly what it's like to see the person you love the most executed! I was forced to watch my mother burned alive!" Naruto had stood, his hands balled so tightly that his nails were cutting into the flesh of his hands, making blood stream and drip down his knuckles. "Don't talk like you know anything!" Naruto's youkai energy had begun to surge but for the most part was kept under control. Anko and Kakashi were both prepared to subdue the dhampir if he were to try anything. The silver-haired boy turned towards the exit and left the residence, cloak fluttering as he slammed the door behind him.

Inari looked like he was about to piss himself before he turned and ran up to his room. Tsunami looked worried and Tazuna had a grim look on his face. The rest were silent. Anko sighed and scratched at the back of her head, "Sorry about that, we've all had bad experiences, and Naruto's had some of the worst."

"So... That was all true?" The pinkette surprisingly asked. She could feel the amount of power being released from her silver-haired comrade and it scared her. What's worse is that she could feel that wasn't even close to the maximum he could put out. Hitsu and Sasuke had been quiet through the whole ordeal.

"That is correct." Moka answered, her tone saying what was left unsaid by her: leave it alone and don't pry.

"Aren't you going to go after him?" Sakura inquired, not wanting someone that dangerous to be out there alone.

"Nah, it's best to let him blow off steam. He'll feel much better tomorrow." Anko replied, yawning. "Ne, Kaka-hentai, have you taught your brats tree-walking yet?"

The one-eyed scarecrow blinked and looked up from his book. "No, I don't believe I have."

Anko grinned, making the students of Team 7 shiver at the look. "Good, then we have something to work on since my brats already know it."

The vampire girl was suddenly hit by a delicious scent that overpowered that of the food in front of them, making her look over to where Naruto had been sitting and see the drops of blood that had leaked from his palms, her hand reaching out to scoop some onto her fingers, unnoticed by the others.

* * *

'Zabuza-sama is recovering more quickly than I expected, but it would go much faster if he'd stop moving around so much.' A raven-haired individual dressed in a pink and white flowered kimono was walking through the forest, a basket tucked under their arm as they searched for certain flowers and herbs to put in said basket. The person hesitated as they entered a small clearing that had a body in the middle of it. The clearing was also a mess, as many trees around it had deep slashes in their trunks with a few even toppled over. Upon closer inspection, the person noticed the body was male and was indeed breathing; it seemed he was just sleeping. Getting a closer look, the individual saw the Konoha hitai-ate tied around the forehead of the sleeping boy, hidden slightly by the boy's silver hair.

'Hm, he's a ninja of Konoha, but he isn't part of the group that Zabuza faced. Maybe they called for back-up?' The individual asked himself before kneeling next to the sleeping boy. 'I should just take care of him now so he doesn't become a problem later, but...' They had begun reaching for the boy's neck, but ended up shaking his shoulder at the last second. The individual was shocked as they had found the tip of a blade suddenly poised at their neck.

"Sorry, that was sort of reflexive." The silver-haired boy shook his head and lowered his blade as he sat up. It was much later than when he came out here.

"You shouldn't sleep out here, you'll catch a cold." Came the individual's smooth voice, standing up to continue collecting herbs.

"My name is Naruto, what's yours?" The dhampir asked, stretching and standing up. Whoever she was, she was almost as pretty as his Moka. Blinking, Naruto shook that thought from his head. 'Where did that come from?'

"I'm Haku. I'm currently collecting herbs for a sick relative of mine, could you help me?" Haku asked, smiling politely.

"Sure, but I should be getting back soon, my team is probably worried about me." Naruto smiled and the two spent the next hour looking for herbs and talking, finally stopping when Haku's basket was full.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun. You made collecting the herbs so much faster. I'm glad we had this time to talk, but I need to get going. I'll see you again sometime." Haku bowed and gave him a kind smile.

Naruto blushed and scratched his cheek, smiling as he returned the bow. "I enjoyed your company too and I hope your relative gets better soon. Good bye Haku-chan."

"And Naruto-kun? I'm a boy." Haku smirked and walked away, leaving a shell-shocked dhampir behind him.

Sighing, Naruto turned toward the direction of Tazuna's house and started walking. This place was weird and he just couldn't wait to go home. He had a feeling that things would get really interesting, really soon.

* * *

_**And that was that. Honestly, I'm not too proud of that chapter, but oh well. Next chapter will most likely conclude Nami no kuni and will probably be my longest chapter yet. Also, I'm working on a second story in my spare-spare time, when I'm not working on this or doing other things. I've had the idea in my head since I re-watched Claymore, but I'm not actually going to upload it until at least this one is on the 6th or 7th chapter. So if want to read it, watch at least the first 10 episodes of Claymore, or if you've already watched it, good for you. I'm also taking down the poll since no one has wanted to vote on it. I'll do what I feel like with Haku then, and you'll just have to deal with it. **__**Now for your hint: The game the character is from uses a 'judgement ring.'**_  



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